Federal Aircraft Works

Federal Aircraft Works
IndustryAviation
Founded1925; 101 years ago (1925)
FounderF.J. Ditter
Headquarters
Minneapolis, Minnesota
,
United States

The Federal Aircraft Works was an American manufacturer of aircraft skis located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

History

The R4D-5L Que Sera Sera, the first aircraft to land at the South Pole, on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum showing Federal-built skis

The company was founded in 1925 after F.J. Ditter talked to pilots and realized there was a need for skis.[1] It built a single aircraft, the H-150, in 1928.[2][3] In 1931, Ditter received a patent for his skis.[4]

By 1940, it had received contracts from the military for skis to support the development of bases in places such as Alaska and Newfoundland.[1] During World War II, it also produced portable aircraft service hoists.[5] By 1946, the company's prominence in the industry led it to be considered an unofficial laboratory for skis for the Army Air Force.[6]

While working at the company William C. Kaercher, Jr. developed wheel skis for the C-47 that were eventually used in Operation Highjump.[7][8] The design was then converted for light aircraft, for which it was first sold in 1950.[9]

The company began producing non-aviation products in 1953 with the introduction of its "sodcutter" device.[10] Two years later it started building sawhorses.[11] By 1957, the company had further diversified, with Federal Hardware Products being one of its four business units.[12] It introduced a new "air glide" brand of skis in 1958.[13] However, Ditter sold the company in 1964 due to poor health. The new owners renamed it SodMaster and sold the Federal Ski and Engineering division to FluiDyne Engineering Corporation.[14][15][10] After some years under a third owner, it was sold again to William Kaercher and renamed Turfco in 1978.[8][10]

Legacy

Following their purchase by FluiDyne, Federal-designed skis were manufactured by Genaire, an aircraft overhaul company, in St. Catharines, Ontario.[15] By this point, the product line was claimed to make up 90 percent of the worldwide demand for airplane skis.[16]

The rights to Federal skis were eventually acquired by Wipaire, who sold them to F. Atlee Dodge Aircraft Services in February 2023.[17][a]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ The date Wipaire acquired the rights is unclear, but it is no later than 2000 according to an archived version of the company's website.[18] The company received a supplemental type certificate for a model of Federal skis in February 1993.[19] FluiDyne was purchased by Aero Systems Engineering a few months later.[20]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Yerxa, Fendall (28 November 1940). "City Plant Puts Army Planes on Skis". Minneapolis Times-Tribune. p. 21. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  2. ^ Eckland, K. O. (18 November 2008). "American Airplanes: Fa - Fu". Aerofiles. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  3. ^ "New Biplane to Be Built by Firm Here". Minneapolis Star. 11 April 1928. p. 1. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  4. ^ "Plane Ski Patent Granted Designer Here". Minneapolis Star. 30 November 1931. p. 1. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  5. ^ "New Products for Aircraft". Automotive and Aviation Industries. Vol. 88, no. 12. 15 June 1943. p. 40. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  6. ^ "Ski Firm to Continue in Plane Field". Minneapolis Star. 10 May 1946. p. 12. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  7. ^ "Army Tests New Plane Landing Gear". Rochester Times-Union. AP. 4 May 1948. p. 8-A. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  8. ^ a b Pheifer, Pat (15 January 1988). "W.C. Kaercher Jr.; designed Byrd's planes". Star Tribune. p. 6B. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  9. ^ "Hangar Flying". Skyways. Vol. 9, no. 3. March 1950. p. 10. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  10. ^ a b c Kaercher, Scott (April 1984), "From Aircraft to Top Dressers" (PDF), Hole Notes, vol. 13, no. 4, Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents' Association, pp. 9, 11, retrieved 27 January 2026
  11. ^ "Equipment Briefs". Construction Methods & Equipment. Vol. 37, no. 3. March 1955. p. 206. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  12. ^ Hobart, Randall (21 May 1957). "Polar Planes Land on City-Built Skis". Minneapolis Star. p. 17A. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  13. ^ "Product Briefs". American Aviation. Vol. 22, no. 8. 8 September 1958. p. 35. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  14. ^ "FluiDyne Buys Firm's Ski Assets". Minneapolis Star. 7 September 1964. p. 12B. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  15. ^ a b "Green Giant Plans Tecumseh Can Plant". The Globe and Mail. 6 October 1964. p. B4. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  16. ^ "Genaire Gets Contract to Manufacture Most of World's Plane Skis". St. Catharines Standard. 6 October 1964. p. 9. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  17. ^ "Aircraft Skis". F. Atlee Dodge Aircraft Services. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  18. ^ "STCs & Mods". Wipaire. Archived from the original on 14 March 2002. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  19. ^ "Supplemental Type Certificate [SA3-424]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  20. ^ Minnesota Business Almanac. Minneapolis, Minnesota: MSP Communications. June 1994. p. 60. ISBN 0-9641908-5-0. Retrieved 27 January 2026.

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